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It’s the beginning of a new year and many of us have probably been reflecting on our lives; ourselves, wants, goals and projects etc. Many of us, seriously a lot of us, are always making new goals that involve our bodies. Whether that goal is to lose weight, get into shape, eat better or maybe all three of those . I myself am one of those people, but not as a “New Year Resolution”and not as a “goal for 2018”. Since early December I’ve been doing some soul searching, thinking of my “whys” and “is this where I want myself to be”. A voice inside my head piped up and said, “No way, get your shit together and be better for you”. And better sounds good…and achievable.

In the spirit of “a better me” I am follower of a group on Facebook called “No Finish Line Nation”, and it’s pretty cool. I can honestly say it is one of the most positive, supportive, helpful and interesting groups on FB that I’ve come across. Many people who are in the group are following a Weight Watchers program but many also are not.

Lately, a hot topic on the NFLN FB group has been “2 Ingredient Dough”. Everyone has been asking how to make it, what to make with it and “does it taste gross” (seriously).

Well over this weekend I made it for the first time. I made three different items using the dough recipe and had my family as taste testers. I was pleasantly surprised how easy it was, how few weight watcher smart points it is and how many family begged me to make more!

The recipe is basically one part plain non-fat Greek yogurt and one part self-rising flour.

For two bagels for a total of 5 WW smart points:

1/2 Cup Plain Non-Fat Greek Yogurt

1/2 Cup Self-Rising Flour

Mix both ingredients, knead on floured surface for about 1 min (dough will be sticky so spray your hands with cooking spray). Shape dough into two rings.

Now top with egg wash (if you like), and your favorite toppings/seasonings, the possibilities are endless!

I used Trader Joe’s (I love TJ’s) Everything But The Bagel Seasoning on my two bagels.

I have to say I was so surprised at how easy this all was and how good they really tasted! My daughter and my husband (who is very picky) really enjoyed these. The the flavor kind of reminded my husband of a sourdough bread. It was a hit!

After making the bagels, I was ready to try something else. So figured I would try small cinnamon rolls.

For 8 Small Cinnamon Rolls – 2 WW Smart Points each

1 Cup Plain Non-Fat Greek Yogurt

1 Cup Self-Rising Flour

1/4 Cup Stevia

1 Tbsp Cinnamon

Same directions as before.

Then roll out dough, top with Cinnamon and Stevia. Then roll the dough up into one large log and cut pieces out onto baking sheet.

Bake at 350 Degrees for 21-25 min (depending on your oven).

When baked you can add an icing of your choosing, but I didn’t (more points)

So the cinnamon rolls turned out fine. My daughter loved them and kept wanting to eat them all. I thought they were just ok, I wish they had icing but…I didn’t want to use any points on that😜

Mix both ingredients, knead for a minute (I added some seasonings and garlic into my dough), then let dough rest for about 10 minutes.

Spread dough out into desired shape onto lined baking pan.

Add desired sauce and toppings (don’t forget to track your toppings if you are following WW)

Bake at 450 degrees for about 14-16 minutes.

These pizzas were AMAZING!!! My daughter, husband and myself each made our own personal pizzas for dinner tonight with our own topping choices. We were honestly shocked at how delicious our pizzas turned out! First thing my daughter said was, “Mom, this so super good, way better than Papa John’s! Wow!”. My husband loved how the pizzas turned out so much he asked when an we make them again and we should add it into the weekly meal shuffle… Seriously folks, these pizzas were just too good!

I hope this has helped you in taking the plunge and making the “2 Ingredient Dough”.

I can’t wait to make more and experiment with what it can do!

Please feel free to share this post on FB, Pinterest or with your fellow peeps at your next WW meeting😉

Seems like we are right in the middle of autumn here in the Pacific Northwest. Everywhere I go I see pumpkin flavored everything, seriously everything has a pumpkin flavor now. Don’t get me wrong I really enjoy pumpkin, but I’m more of a “enjoy pumpkin in more common things” kind of person. You know what I’m saying😉

So anyway, I have seen everywhere the idea where you mix canned pumpkin with a box of spice cake mix for muffins but what if you make cookies with the same ingredients…🤔

Turns out YES you can! It is a great, easy, low point weight watcher way to make some pumpkin cookies. See recipe below:

Well school is officially out, my girl scout troop has bridged up the brownies, the garden is growing and the weather here in the Pacific North West is much hotter than normal…yup summer has arrived like a relative kicking in the front door. BAM!
Along with all that summer brings are also the day dreams…
For some these day dreams include the beach, the smell of coconut oil and the sounds of waves and seagulls. Others may think of breathing mountain air, the sounds of woodpeckers and walking through a forest. But my family’s day dreams mostly consist of eating a Dole Whip from Disneyland while washing our hands at the kitchen sink for the 6th time that day with that island pineapple scented foaming soap from Bath & Body works.

So, I was digging around in my pile of recipes to see if I could make a low fat (weight watcher friendly version) of something that had that pineapple flare to it. Something to make that was different, refreshing, healthy and satisfying.
I finally came across a recipe that is an oldie but goodie. My mom used to make it years ago and after talking to a few fellow weight watcher meeting pals they have heard of it too but never tried it.
It’s such an easy recipe, and the little cakes are so good they feel like a little treat but are not overly sweet that they taste great for a snack.
A great thing about this recipe…it’s only 2 ingredients and thats it!
But the best thing ever about this recipe is that each “cake” or”muffin” (whatever you call it) is only 1 ww pts+!!!

**6/29/16 UPDATE- 4 Smart Points per cake**

Ingredients:
1 Box Angel Food Cake
1 20 oz Can Crushed Pineapple

Mix both ingredients together well in large bowl.
Scoop mix into 24 cupcake lined muffin or brownie pans.
Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes

Makes: 24 regular sized muffins(I apologize my pictures did not come out too well, so I will have some update ones on here in about a week or so)

I have been using coconut oil a lot lately in many things. I even experimented with some marshmallow pumpkin bars to share with you all, but those did not turn out so good, so those are currently on the re-do list. Anyway, I have two very good friends that just love coconut everything… I bumped into one today and I will be visiting with the other one tomorrow and they inspired me to try a coconut baked good. But as they are also always trying to beat me in my daily step count (yes I have a fitbit) I decided to substitute some ingredients to make the a bit more “healthy-fied” (yes I know that’s not a word). So below is what I came up with, enjoy!1/2 Coconut oil (melted)
1 1/4 Flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking powder
1/4 tsp Kosher salt (optional)
1 cup Shredded coconut
1 cup Coconut Greek yogurt
1/3 cup Sugar
1 Egg (at room temperature)
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1/2 cup Toasted almonds chopped

Preheat oven to 375°F. You can line a muffin tin with paper liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in 3/4 cup shredded coconut.
In a large bowl (stand or hand mixer) mix together coconut oil, yogurt, sugar, egg and vanilla.
Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients slowly until just combined. Gently mix in chopped almonds.
Using a large cookie scoop or spoon, divide batter among prepared muffin cups and sprinkle the top with remaining 1/4 cup shredded coconut.

Bake in the oven for about 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer muffins to a cooling rack.

Strawberries are in full swing right now and I love to think of different ways to use them. Usually, my daughter in hales them within one or two days, never giving me a chance to bake with them.
But this morning I picked up a bunch (on sale of course) and made these yummy muffins up during nap time. ♥
Yup, I felt like one stealthy momma!

And once again I’ve been trying to bake with out using butter or oil and this recipe is another winner. For the health-conscience out there this recipe uses no butter, oil or egg yolks. They are substituted with unsweetened applesauce and egg white.
Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 1/4 Cup Flour

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1/4 Cup Sugar

1/4 Cup Light Brown Sugar

1/2 Cup + 2 Tbsp Applesauce (unsweetened)

1 Egg White (beaten)

2/3 Cup Diced Strawberries

1/3 Cup Mini-chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350. Spray muffin tin and set aside.

In a large bowl mix flour, baking soda and cinnamon. In a separate bowl mix brown sugar, applesauce and sugar until there are no lumps. Then add the egg white until mixed well.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients just until combined (do not over mix).

Fold in strawberries and mini chocolate chips.

Divide the batter evenly between about 10 muffin cups in the muffin tin. Bake for about 15-20 minutes.
(Insert a toothpick and make sure it comes out clean)

Last summer my daughter and I were trying to do a new project or activity that we could do at home everyday using stuff we already had in the house. (summer fun on a tight budget)
We came across this recipe in the Family Fun magazine. Many times this particular magazine has some good ideas but they are too often to difficult for my little one. Anyway, we found this great idea for cupcakes and it was easy enough for Little Diva to help me the whole time.

I have to say that the cupcakes came out looking pretty cool!

What you’ll need

White cake mix (we used an 18-1/4-ounce box)

Food coloring (red, blue, green, and yellow)

Baking cups

How to make it

Prepare your favorite white cake mix, then divide the batter evenly among six small bowls. Following the chart below, dye each bowl of batter a rainbow color.

RAINBOW COLOR

DROPS OF FOOD COLORING

Purple

9 red and 6 blue drops

Blue

12 drops

Green

12 drops

Yellow

12 drops

Orange

12 yellow and 4 red drops

Red

18 drops

Line 16 muffin pan wells with baking cups. Evenly distribute the purple batter among the cups, then the blue, and so on, following the order shown. As you go, gently spread each layer of batter with the back of a spoon to cover the color underneath.

Bake the cupcakes according to your recipe directions. Before serving, remove the paper wrapping.

My daughter and I have been wanting to do a colorful baking project and came across this idea in my mess of recipes and ideas torn out of magazines. After looking at it the recipe is just a sugar cookie recipe. What makes this looks so cool is the way to use food coloring…yes I know you all reading this knew that part 🙂

Anyway I used a bag of Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie mix (that I got free by using coupons 🙂 ) And I used box of neon food coloring along with regular “yellow” and “blue” food coloring.

Ok so first you make the dough as instructed on the box/bag. Then divide the dough into equal quantities for how ever many colors you would like. Mix the food coloring to color desired into the dough.
I did four colors; Yellow, Pink, Purple and Green.

(Unfortunately, as you can see, I didn’t have four bowls all the same size. LOL)

After the coloring is mixed into the dough you may need to put it into the fridge for about 10 to 20 minutes before the next step.

When the dough is some what chilled, take each color of dough and roll out grape sized balls of dough and set them aside. (see photo below)
Do not mix the colors together, that part comes next.

Now, once all the dough is now in small grape sized balls. Take one of each color and gently roll just until they stay stuck together, they will kind of look like a beach ball.
Don’t over roll!
If the dough gets to sticky put back into the fridge for about 10 minutes or so then continue.

Ok now the next part. Take one of the colored “beach ball” and roll it out to make it like a “snake”.
Kind of how you would roll out play-doh to make spaghetti when you were 5. Of course, my daughter loved this part.

Once the dough is rolled out into a long “snake”. Start from one end and roll the end and continue to make it into a “spiral”. What you should end up with is this:

Then you can either choose to bake as they are, or you can add some sprinkles! We did sprinkles because…well…my daughter wants to put them on everything. So we rolled the side of the cookies in the sprinkles.
Just make sure there is plenty of space between the cookies when you get ready to bake them because they do spread out some. We baked them at 350 for about 7-9 minutes, make sure you keep an eye on them closely.

Then when they are all done you have some neat looking cookies. And people will think you are even more cool…